Rural NY Initiative

Cornell Cooperative Extension Wayne County is partnering with Cornell University in a statewide Rural Visioning Project.

With leadership from NYS Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, the Rural Vision Project is a multi-faceted and multi-step approach to identifying challenging issues and emerging opportunities facing rural New York State, and a focus on state-level policies to address these issues. The Project is a collaborative endeavor, involving Cornell’s Community & Rural Development Institute (CaRDI), the Department of Development Sociology’s Rural New York Initiative (RNYI), Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the NYS Legislative Commission on Rural Resources.

Project goals include fostering a productive dialogue resulting in a well-articulated vision for rural New York State – a vision that highlights:

choices integrating economic opportunity and environmental health with individual and community capacity for planning

problem solving and entrepreneurial leadership

effective decision making and

implementation of targeted strategies for rural community and economic development.

The Project will bring together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners through a variety of planned activities.

As part of this project there are/were several stages of involvement - including participation in a websurvey, participation in regional listening sessions, participation in a statewide conference and then taking part on the actualization of recommendations and plans from these activities.

More and updated information on these conferences and resources for community leaders can also be found on the CARDI website. CARDI is the Community and Rural Development Institute that provides research and education supporting informed decision making for New York State Communities.